Kevin Eikenberry on Effectively Leading From a Distance – Episode #112

Leading from a distance is a thing these days – because remote teams and distributed workforces are becoming more and more common. With that reality come a number of difficulties, all the leader’s responsibility to solve. In order to bring some insight to the issues involved, Anthony invited Kevin Eikenberry to be his guest. Kevin has given a good deal of his life to thinking about leadership and has made it his mission to learn all he can about the way leaders need to modify and improve their leadership when it comes to dealing with remote teams. This conversation is intriguing – but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Be sure you listen and be sure you grab Kevin’s new book, “Long Distance Leader.”

Management and leadership are not the same things

It’s entirely possible to be a great manager and a terrible leader. The reverse is true as well. Kevin Eikenberry points out this difference because so many people are placed in a management position and may even excel at the organizational part of their role, then mistakenly think that makes them a leader. In this conversation, Anthony and Kevin dig into the distinctions between managers and leaders, outline why leadership requires clear communication and great connection with individuals, and how accountability works in a healthier manner when it is based on good leadership.

When teams don’t “go to work” anymore, how can leaders trust them?

There are still many places in the world where team members assemble in the same geographic location every day to get work done together. But more and more companies are allowing their employees to operate from a home office at least part of the week while still other teams intentionally build an entirely remote workforce. What are the things leaders need to do in order to ensure that their team is actually working when they are not under their direct, in-person supervision? Here are a few clues: it has to do with culture, hiring the right people, and trust – and the leader is responsible for all of those. Listen as Kevin Eikenberry explains.

Cultures will exist. It’s up to the leader to create one that empowers and executes on its goals

Kevin Eikenberry points out that many people these days are talking about culture as if it’s something that’s missing and needs to be created. The reality is that your team already has a culture – it just may not be the one you want. In this conversation, you’ll receive Kevin’s insights about the type of culture that empowers effective distributed teams, what leaders need to do in order to foster that kind of culture, and hear a few anecdotes about how Kevin has seen a shift in culture make all the difference. You won’t want to miss it.

We have no shortage of communication tools these days, so leaders have no excuse for establishing effective communication within their teams. However, teams can often find themselves running in circles and belaboring problems when a switch from one communication tool to another could help them clearly define problems and get to solutions quickly. Kevin explains how he encourages his team to avoid that kind of thing by simply turning on their webcams. Not only is it possible to communicate more efficiently through video, it’s also possible to build culture and a sense of deeper intimacy as a team at the same time. Learn why face to face communication is still the gold standard for communication in our technological age, on this episode of In The Arena.

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